Latvia Includes Russia in List of Offshore Jurisdictions

The Latvian government has made a decision to include Russia in the list of countries and territories with low or zero taxation starting from July 1, 2023.

According to Delfi, apart from Russia, the list of offshore jurisdictions also includes the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The Latvian Ministry of Finance has urged taxpayers to pay special attention to transactions involving individuals located, established, or registered in these countries and territories.

These countries were added to the list of offshore jurisdictions because they do not cooperate in taxation with the European Union (EU), which was updated on February 14, 2023.

The Latvian Ministry of Finance explained that the new provisions directly refer to the EU list and its regular updates, aiming to avoid further regular technical changes and ensure the most effective and timely response to changes in the EU list.

The Ministry of Finance reminded that Latvia's legislation governing direct taxation provides for a special tax regime (protective measures) in case of transactions involving individuals located, established, or registered in countries and territories with low or zero taxation.

Previously, it was reported that individuals who had financially benefited from and actively supported the regime of Vladimir Putin in Russia continued to operate freely in Latvia.